What's the trick to mowing grass on a steep hill with a gas push mower

What's the trick for mowing a half-football field sized steep slope with a
gas push mower?
I need to mow the steep hill at the side of my house which is overgrown
with tall grasses and weeds. It looks like half a football field on its
side, with the shorter distance being the fall line.
I don't know the degrees but it's hard to walk along the slope, mostly due
to the unconsolidated soil and the slope; but it's possible to walk it; but
with a mower, things get harder fast.
When I tried to mow down the fall line, it was way too hard as I
accelerated down and couldn't pull the mower up (and kept falling down,
which doesn't seem safe).
When I tried to mow across the fall line, I could barely hold the line to
cut a swath but it was always a steep diagnal. Gravity pulled the mower so
that it actually moved at a 45 degree angle to my sidewise motion, which
itself was something less than straight across the fall line due to the
slope.
I thought of tying a rope to the handle and letting gravity mow straight
down the fall line; but it might be difficult to pull the running mower
back up.
Before I try something stupid, I figured I'd ask you guys if you've solved
the problem of trying to mow with a gas push mower (it's all I have) on a
steep slope.

They'd still need to mow the lawn.
I noticed thick white smoke when I was mowing on the hill ... any idea what
that can be from? It's a craftsman 25" or so 4-stroke push type.
I wonder if I can find a moveable winch that I can put at the top of the
slope to mow consequitive stripes down the fall line until the
approximately 200 or 300 feet long by 100 to 150 feet wide slope is fully
mowed.
Any suggestions?

The white smoke is oil getting past the rings as the motor is tipped over.
Walk across the slope and never let the mower get above you. Best move is
to plant a ground cover that does not need mowing. Just let it go natural.

Doesnt thick white smoke mean anything to you? You are ruining your
motor, you cant do it with a 4 stroke you are starving it of oil, it
going to fry, They only possible way is a 2 stroke lawnboy. Since 2
stroke is no longer made, a used one. But I have a hill like that and
a mowing it with a mower nearly killed me many times, push the mower
up and slip and it comes running down on you, walk it down and you
will still slip on a wet patch. A weed wacker is better, but I just
planted ground cover and plants and said screw mowing it, a dangerous
pain in the ass. Around here the State stopped using small 4 strokes
on steep highway areas, they went Lawnboy because the 4 strokes didnt
last 1 year. Now that 2 strokes are no longer made I guess its weed
wacker for areas they used small mowers

I was afraid of that which is why I asked.
I wonder at what angle a lawnmower can no longer handle slopes.
I know cars are more complicated, but they can handle slopes ... and
airplanes too ... so there must be something in a (slope) lawnmower that
keeps the oil moving at angles.

I honestly stopped cutting mine, its to dangerous, slipping on muddy
areas and having the lawnmower come back to your feet while its
running, I knew eventualy my mistakes would cost me big, I went the
weedwacker route, then I terraced and planted plants. Get a 50 lb bag
of black oil sunflower seed, and have sunflowers.

I like that idea, and so would my neighborhood birds and squirrels. But
alas, for my problem area in the front yard, my neighbors would shoot
me, and my topsoil is so thin and crappy they are unlikely to grow
unless I dumped a thousand bucks of potting soil out and spread it
around. Township would likely call them 'noxious weeds' as well, and
send Bubba and his bush-hog by, and add it to my tax bill.

A little creative landscaping might eliminate the need for mowing AND be
something to admire...sounds like a dangerous place to try to mow. In
my OR days, I saw quite a few people with mower injuries...always by
mower rolling back and grabbing some toes.
I did quite a bit of refining of the landscaping around our condo where
downspouts formerly washed out a lot of soil. Small areas, gradual
grades, but had been a real eyesore.

Oh, I keep a close eye on the mower, and have never even had a close
call with it. The low-hanging branches and the damn ground bees have
nailed me a few times, though. Not much to be done about the bees, other
than kill the colony if I spot them first. But I really need to get out
the pruners and the toy electric chainsaw, and get medieval on those
trees. I can cut dead branches fine, but I feel guilty cutting blooming
ones- always afraid the tree will up and die on me (these trees are in
pretty sad shape), and if I cut when the leaves aren't out, I'm never
sure how much the branches will droop when fully loaded.

--
aem sends, glad he finished up mowing last night, since it is
August-muggy out there right now...

Many years ago I had a summer job mowing the grass and other grounds maintenance
at a large apartment complex. We used the rope method on some of the steep hills
there. If you decide to push the mower accross the slope, don't drag it
backwards; make sure you actually turn it around so the opposite side is
facing downhill from time to time. Most push mowers do not have very sophistcated
lubrication systems and prolonged use with one side downhill can damage
the engine. I remember seeing one catch on fire from overheating.

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